


The Tyrant

by EzrasHargrave



Category: Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, Gakuen Mokushiroku | Highschool of the Dead, Highschool DxD (Anime)
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Alternate Universe, Dark, Emotional, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fantasy, Magic, Modern Era, Multiple Crossovers, POV First Person, Revenge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:40:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27519268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EzrasHargrave/pseuds/EzrasHargrave
Summary: Issei Hyoudou was nothing in his family’s eyes. He was a sinner, his sister a saint. He was nothing but scum to them, pushing him into a corner. No one thought about how far Issei would go to start pushing back. “You called me trash. You called me worthless. But here I stand, above you. With the spirits by my side, I shall rise and become a King. This is my Fated Ascension.”
Comments: 10
Kudos: 38





	1. I: The Deck

"H- Hello!" A blonde girl said as she stood in front of a married couple, a sheepish smile on the face of the light brunette girl standing beside her. "It's nice to meet you! I- I am Asia Argento, and I'll be living here starting today! Pleased to make your acquaintance!"

"Oh, a cute young foreigner!" The man laughed lightly. "She's so cute! A foreign exchange student from Italy, staying with us! It's like having a second daughter!"

"You're right, dear," the mother said with a smile. "Asia, do feel free to call me mother, okay?"

"Eh? I- I couldn't-!"

"Nonsense!" She dismissed it. "I insist, call me mother! I've always wanted another daughter, you're the closest thing I'll likely ever get to it!"

"Mom!" The daughter exclaimed. "Could you not embarrass Asia like that?"

"Ara, so protective," she grinned a little. "Is this girl important to you, Rei?"

"Eh?" The now named Rei blushed. "She- she's…"

"R- Rei-san is my first friend!" Asia said, making the occupants of the house look at her. "I- I never had any friends growing up. I was always alone… But then I met Rei-san! And she was so kind to me, she treated me like family! S- So I'm honoured to be staying in this house, and living with her!"

The blonde bowed. "Please take care of me! Mother, Father!"

"Oh!" The father cheered. "You're too sweet, Asia-Chan! You are more than welcome in this house, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise, you hear!? A second daughter, I never thought the day would come!"

"Ara," the mother blushed, putting a hand on her cheek. "If you say something like that, how can we refuse? Of course, we'll take care of you Asia-Chan!"

"Thank you very much!" Asia said.

"Jeez, you two are so embarrassing," Rei mumbled, scratching her cheek with a light smile.

From an outside perspective, the Hyoudou Family was a happy one.

… Save for one dark spot.

My name is Issei Hyoudou, an outcast in my own family.

Am I a troubled kid?

Yeah, that's putting it lightly.

For a long time, I've been an outcast not just in my family, but in the town, I live in.

You see, my sister is everything I'm not. She's popular, she's smart, she's approachable, she's likeable and, loathe as I am to admit it, she's very attractive.

I, on the other hand, am not those things. I'm an open pervert, which means everyone hates me. I'm average in looks, average in knowledge, unapproachable due to my perverse nature…

Not that anyone approached me in the first place.

My sister, Rei, hated me. I didn't know why or what I'd done to deserve her hatred or ire. All I knew was that my sister detested me, loathed me with a fierce passion that couldn't be described. And so, she spread false rumours about me.

Rumours about how I peeked on girls in locker rooms, stole their clothes, rumours about how I was essentially a borderline rapist just waiting to happen.

At one point, the police got involved due to the spread of rumours, but there was such a lack of evidence- of course there was, I hadn't done anything bad- that they had to drop it. Of course, the damage was done and everything believed I was guilty and had gotten off on a technicality.

My parents believed everything my sister told them, and believed I was a good for nothing pervert in exchange. They preferred to dote on Rei and have nothing at all to do with me at all, taking their 'perfect' daughter's word as gospel.

Only I saw the truth of what she was.

A monster in human flesh, who made it her sole duty to turn my life to shit and make sure I never got to be happy, for reasons I'd never find out.

I hated it.

I hated her.

I hated this house.

I hated my parents.

I hated this crappy situation I'd been put into just for existing.

But what could I do?

Nobody was willing to hire me, so I couldn't get the money to get a house of my own, or get a plane ticket to try and escape the country and build my life elsewhere!

I was trapped… Trapped in a hell from which I had no escape.

I glared at the scene of Asia being welcomed into the house with opens arms, Rei standing by her side, before I turned and made my way up the stairs, wanting to get as far away from the scene as I possibly could.

I closed the door to my room, and sat on the bed.

"What can I do…?" I muttered to myself bitterly.

I was seventeen years old, which meant I only had around a year until my parents could legally kick me out of the house without facing any consequences.

One year.

I had one year to try and do something to either turn my life around, or to somehow gather enough money for when I was inevitably thrown out of the house.

And if I couldn't do that…

I punched the bed. "Fuck…!" I cursed. "I'm running out of time… I can't get a job; nobody wants to deal with me… At this rate, my only hope is going to be the Underworld…"

The Underworld, Kuoh's criminal hotspot. A notorious place where criminals gathered in Kuoh. It was an unspoken rule that what happened in the Underworld stayed in the Underworld, even the police didn't dare go near that area.

It was an absolute last-case scenario. Once you joined the Underworld, the only escape was death. Even old age wouldn't let you escape the Underworld so easily, you would forever be part of it no matter where you went.

I didn't want to go there.

I did _not_ want to get involved with them but, at the rate I was going, I was being left with little to no choice.

"What do I do…?"

…

…

…

I made my way to school in silence, headphones blaring music in my ears as I ignored the glares of everyone directed at me.

As I walked, I thought about how things had been changing… More specifically, how they'd seemed to be centred on Rei.

About a week or two ago, strange things started happening.

First, Rei came downstairs with- of all people- Rias Gremory, one of the two most popular girls in school. She had, somehow, stayed the night and my parents hadn't made a big deal about it at all.

That was the first thing that tipped me off.

The next thing that had changed was that Rei was now a member of the Occult Research Club- otherwise known as the ORC- a club _run_ by Rias Gremory.

And now came this new girl, Asia, who was going to be living with us from now on… Who just so happened to show up a few days after Rei was out all night and wasn't back until the early hours of the morning, claiming she was out because she was doing special club activities?

I didn't buy it.

I didn't buy it for one god damned minute.

I lowered my headphones to try and clear my thoughts, but that was when the whispers began to fill my ears once again.

_"It's him again…"_

_"Rapist Hyoudou…"_

_"He's nothing like Rei."_

_"How is such an angel related to such scum?"_

_"Why did they even let him come to this school?"_

_"I'd say he should commit Seppuku, but he has no honour."_

_"I heard he once almost raped his own sister!"_

_"Eh!? Are you serious!? What scum!"_

_"Why haven't the police arrested him!?"_

_"I heard they did once, but he got off on a technicality."_

_"Tch… It's always the worst ones who manage to escape…"_

I put my headphones back on.

Why?

Why was I cursed to live such a life?

Why…

_Why could I not be loved?_

…

…

…

I was walking through town after school, staring at the ground dejectedly, headphones still on my head.

I hardly took my headphones off. It was one of the only ways to drown out the whispers, drown out the insults.

The only place I didn't wear them was in my room, otherwise they hardly ever left my side.

Asia joined the class, and brazenly announced she was living with Rei…

Of course, that led to whispers. Whispers about how Rei would need to do her best to protect Asia from my 'evil ways.'

Fools.

The only evil one was Rei.

I was no saint, certainly, but Rei was the sinner.

So lost in my thoughts, I wasn't paying attention and ended up bumping into something, tripping and needing to stop my fall with my hands.

"Ow…" I cursed, getting up and looking at what I walked into.

I blinked at the sight of it.

A stand.

A very poorly made looking stand with a banner over it that said 'The Stand of Heroes.'

And sitting at it was an old man. He had white hair, a fine beard and moustache, and a smile on his face…

What caught my gaze mostly were his red eyes.

I lowered my headphones slowly. "… Sorry about that."

"Hohoho!" The man only laughed. "No need to worry about it, sonny! It's not the first time! Why, just the other day I had a similar situation where a young blonde lad bumped into my stand!"

"Blonde lad…?" My first thought was Yuuto Kiba, from the ORC.

"Nobody you know, I'm sure," the man said. "But since you're here, please have a seat!"

"Hah?" I raised an eye at him. "Why would I-?"

"I've yet to insult you, haven't I?"

I froze.

The man… Made a strangely good point.

Everyone in this town knew me, famous in it for all the wrong reasons. Nobody hid their hatred for me.

But this man wasn't insulting me… In fact, he was being far too friendly.

Why…?

If only to sate my curiosity about why, I took a seat on the chair opposite him.

"Hohoho, excellent!" He said with a grin. "Greetings first, shall we! My name is Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg. You may call me Zelretch."

"… Issei Hyoudou, though I'm sure you probably know that."

"Indeed, indeed!" Zelretch grinned. "A young man in quite a poor situation, despite not having done anything wrong!"

"Eh?"

"Hm? What?"

"You… Don't believe I did anything wrong?"

Zelretch only chuckled. "Boy, I've seen many things in this world. Good things, bad things, and some _hilarious_ things. But one thing I've learned from it is to tell when someone is lying, and when they're being truthful. You don't have the black heart to rape someone. And, if you did, you would be filled with so much guilt over it that you would turn yourself in and accept whatever punishment the court gave you."

"Ah…" I stared at him.

I kept staring.

He gave me a bit of a weird look. "Into old people, are you boy? I'm afraid I don't swing that way-!"

"Oh, fuck you!" I snapped at him. "Here I was, feeling emotional, about to tear up and say how glad I was someone believed me, and you ruined the moment you damned old man! Learn to read the mood!

"Pft- HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Ah…" I looked down, realising I'd just lost my temper…

When was the last time I'd actually snapped like that?

More than that, when was the last time I felt such a huge weight being lifted off of my shoulders…?

Someone believed me.

Someone didn't think I was a rapist.

That…

That made me feel at least a bit better.

"Hehehe… You look a lot better without such a gloomy look on your face, brat. Now then, why don't you look at my wares?"

"Did you say all that just to make me like you a bit so I'd buy your stuff?" I deadpanned.

"Depends, did it work?"

"… Just show me what you've got, shitty old man."

Zelretch only laughed again, reaching under the table and pulled out a box.

Opening the box, he pulled from it twelve golden cards, each depicting a different image.

"What I sell are these cards," Zelretch told me.

"… And what are they for exactly?"

"Why, I'm glad you asked! These cards are the ticket to power! What you do with it is all your choice, of course! Use the power to be a hero? Or use it to be a mad villain? The choice is up to you!"

I stared at him. "… Do you think I'm a kid who's gonna believe this shit?"

"Well you've come this far, why not listen until the end?"

I frowned… Before sighing. "I guess…"

He grinned. "Good choice! First…"

He gestured to the card furthest to the left. It depicted the image of a knight, holding a western sword with both hands. "The first card is Saber! The power of a warrior who cleaves through all with a mighty blade, tearing down all who stand in their path."

"Then why is the image that of a knight?" I asked him. "Don't they stand for justice and honour?"

"Those are subjective," Zelretch told me. "What is justice to one is injustice to another. What is honourable to one is dishonourable to another. The Saber wields the power of knights, kings, great warriors who fought for what they believed in, even to the bitter end."

I stared at the Saber card…

Fighting for what you believed in, huh…? When was the last time I'd fought for anything…?

I suppose if I could fight...

I would get revenge.

Revenge on Rei, revenge on my parents, revenge on anyone who ever looked down on me and wronged me.

Revenge on them all.

"Next," he said, tapping the card to the immediate right. This card depicted someone dressed in lighter clothing, clearly build more for speed, holding something behind them. A lance, or a spear.

"Lancer. Agile, excellent in close combat, and masters of hit-and-run tactics, using their range and speed to their advantage. Those who hold the power of Lancer are monsters on the battlefield, using their speed to be untouched."

"Is that all?" I asked.

Zelretch only grinned. "Lancers tend to have terrible luck in life, often needing to claw their way through a lot of nasty situations. Sounds familiar, no?"

I stayed silent.

Shitty luck, huh?

Yes, that was me. A man who experienced shitty luck almost from the day of my birth… But I was here. I was alive, and not in jail. Somehow, I'd survived this far… And I would survive further into the future.

I watched as that old man's grin stretched a centimetre wider.

"Third," he tapped once again, drawing my attention to the next card.

This one depicted another knight, wearing heavy looking armour on their upper body and aiming with a bow into the distance.

"The Archer Class," Zelretch looked amused as he said it, looking at the card with barely restrained laughter. "Admittedly very powerful, often possessing high resistance to magical attacks, and also able to act Independently. Archers hate being caged, preferring to act when and how they pleased. More than that, they often possess a large number of powerful weapons, boasting more than any other class."

"Powerful weapons…"

Freedom.

Able to act how you wanted, free of all cages and able to do as you pleased.

Ah… How envious…

What I wouldn't give for something like that…

"What's next?" I asked.

Zelretch smirked, tapping on the next card. "Rider. The Warrior with a Mount. Living beasts or human constructs, they will ride mighty steeds into battle. In some instances, they even merged together with their mounts to become a single, powerful warrior. They usually have lower attributes compared to the first three classes, but the abilities of their mounts compensate with powerful abilities. They almost always possess a high level of Riding Skill, letting them skilfully use any mount. Car, plane, even a tank. At the highest rank, they can even command powerful divine beasts like a Pegasus."

"What about a dragon?"

Zelretch only laughed. "Only a fool would try to ride a dragon. The riding skill does not extent to dragons, it manifests in a different skill… Though some rare exceptions do exist, such as Saint Martha."

"Saint Martha…?" I raked my brain for information on her, but I was blanking.

"No matter, no matter," Zelretch waved. "Many Riders are often Kings or Ship Captains. Those who led the charge into battle, laughed the loudest, drank the most eagerly. The supreme ruler of their people."

Ruler of their people, huh…?

I wondered; would such a thing make me happy? To rule over others? To be able to command them as I pleased, and enjoy whatever I wanted whenever I wanted?

"Oi, boy!" I snapped my gaze to Zelretch. "Pay attention, we don't have all day here you know!"

"Ah, sorry…"

He only huffed. "Next is Caster, one who wields great magical abilities. To qualify as a caster, you must have master of sorceries of the highest calibre. Generally, they have low combat abilities, and are often bad pairings as most others possess some form of magic resistance, among all of these it is thought to be the weakest…"

"But…?" I prodded.

Zelretch grinned widely. "They make up for it by using powers beyond your wildest dreams, possessing many different strategies to use against enemies. They can create their own territory, altering the surrounding lands around them, and can create magical items and tools. More than that, they often follow their own set of morals. They decide what is right and wrong, they decide what is just and what is sin."

"Deciding what is just and what is sin, huh…?"

"We've no time for you to have an internal monolog again, boy," Zelretch said impatiently. "We're moving on now! Assassin is the next class!"

"Assassin?" I blinked. "Wait, you said these were ticket to power, and you used hero as the first example. How is an assassin a hero?"

"What about the one who kills the tyrant?" Zelretch asked. "The one who ends a corrupt politician, the one who brings down a child abuser? Not all assassins are evil, sometimes they are the only solution."

"I… I see…" I hadn't thought of that…

"Now, Assassins obviously specialise in just that: assassination," Zelretch said. "They lack more glamorous stories like the other classes, so they often possess poor abilities…" He grinned. "But they make up for it with their Presence Concealment, some able to conceal themselves so well that they could be walking down the street towards you and you'd never know!"

I gulped. "That's… A bit terrifying to think about."

"Indeed."

"So… Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Assassin. Who's next?"

"Berserker."

"Berserker?"

"Those who fell into madness," Zelretch said, without a smile this time. "Often due to the loss of a loved one or due to betrayal, they lose themselves to their madness and can only focus on destroying the object of their revenge. A mindless machine that can only kill…"

I stared at the card…

Betrayal, huh…? I guess Rei's sudden attitude change towards me would be a betrayal, wouldn't it…?

Yes… She betrayed me, and I-!

"Oi!" I held my head in pain as Zelretch hit me. "I just said we don't have time for your internal monologs! Also don't look so angry, you don't want to be an edge lord, do you?"

I straightened my back and shook my head.

"Then lighten up a bit!" He said. "Sure, life's shit for you right now, but there's no reason it can't be turned around someday. Just do your best to look on the bright side."

"… Right."

"Now then!" Zelretch pushed the first seven cards to the side. "Those are the seven main classes. We now move onto the five extra classes," he spread the other five across the table, each of them having a different motif to the first seven.

"We'll begin with the Ruler Class," he said, gesturing to the card with a woman dressed in robes, holding a set of scales. "Rulers are protectors, those who uphold the rules and make sure there are no breaches. They are neutral in conflicts, taking no sides, only acting in the interest of those they serve, and assure the laws surrounding these powers are not breached. The criteria to be a Ruler, however, is very strict."

"Huh?" I blinked. "What kind of criteria is that?"

"A huge majority of those who fit into these classes all have a desire they want to fulfil, a wish they want to have fulfilled. To be a Ruler, you must lack that desire, that wish, in order to assure you remain impartial. Most often, those who become Rulers are Saints. Jeanne d'Arc or Saint Martha are good examples."

"I… See."

A wish to have fulfilled…? What would I wish for…?

"Brat, do you want me to hit you again?"

"Ah, sorry! Continue!" Jeez, could this old man read my mind!?

"Hmph," Zelretch eyed me before moving on. "Avenger is the next class." His eyes drifted to the card, showing someone with long hair held in chains. "Based on vengeance, powerful resentment that didn't even fade with death, that lingered and festered for years and years. They only seek revenge, they often desire nothing more than to destroy the object of their hatred- brat, if you start another internal monolog I swear-!"

"I'll be good!" I said. "I get it, want revenge, I want revenge, we're alike moving on!"

"Good," he nodded. "Next, we have Moon Cancer!"

"… 'Scuse you?"

"Moon Cancer," he said with amusement, holding up the card with what looked like a girl in some kind of uniform playing with… Was that a yoyo? "Originally one who was meant to be a Ruler, but she decided that was too mainstream and wanted something else. So, she created her own class to be in. Of course, one or two others managed to sneak their way into the class, but there you are!"

"… Y- you're fucking with me, right?"

"Nope, completely serious."

"… What kind of game are you running here?"

"Do you want me to hit you again?"

"… So, that was number three, what's four?"

He smirked at me, knowing he won that round, tapping another card. This one depicted the image of someone dressed in a jester outfit, a darkened version of them behind them and upside down. "Alter Ego. Alter Egos are exactly how they sound, often another side or part to one of the other classes that manifests in this unique class, becoming a separate personality and gaining independence as a different entity."

"… Huh?"

"Hm, it's hard to explain, you'll see in due time."

… Why did I not like how he said that?"

"And, finally we reach the end with Foreigner," he said, gesturing to the final card. This card was very different to the rest depicting a cloaked figure with energy coming out of them. The lower half of their body didn't even look human, seeming to be more like some kind of extra-terrestrial.

"… So, what's the deal with this one?" I asked him.

He grinned. "Foreigners are those who have descended from superstition, kept their purity in the heart of madness, or are those who are swallowed by madness and then turn around and consume it instead. Unlike the other classes, they are foreign beings from other worlds, typically bonding with Outer Gods. Though some have no connection to outer gods at all."

I blinked. "… So, like… Cthulhu or something?"

"Excellent example," he beamed at me. "Yes, Cthulhu is bonded to one who qualifies as a foreigner. Though they are dangerous, almost always residing as threats to humanity itself… However, that does not mean that they are bad. Sometimes, they are merely misunderstood."

I stared at the card, and let my gaze drift across the rest of them, contemplating.

"So!" Zelretch clapped. "Which one do you want?"

"All of them."

"… Pardon?"

"All of them," I told him. "I'll play what I have to…"

"Why?" He asked me. "You believe this is a simple game, yes? You don't believe any of this is real. So why?"

"… Because I want to."

He stared at me… And then laughed. "Hahaha! What a human response, but so wonderful! Because you want to! Very well, all twelve are yours-!"

"No."

He stopped and looked at me with confusion. "No?"

"I said all of them," I told him. "I mean _all_ of them."

He stared at me… And then his eyes widened, gaze snapping to the box, before snapping back to me. "You can't possibly mean…?"

"If I didn't, would we be having this conversation?"

He continued to stare at me, as if he'd never seen me before…

And then he laughed, but it wasn't the same as the times before.

It was inherently different, sending chills down my spine, making me feel like I'd just agreed to something awful.

"All of them… The whole deck…!" He laughed merrily. "Surprised! Me, surprised! Nobody has had the audacity, in all the times I've done this, to _ever_ want the whole deck! To ever ask me for the entire thing! HAHAHA! Brilliant! Truly brilliant, I knew I made the right choice!"

He scooped up the cards on the table, plopping them into the box, before setting it in front of me with a huge grin on his face. "It's yours! Free of charge!"

"Eh?" I stared at him. "Why? And… What do you mean right choice?"

"Oh, you will learn in due time, Issei Hyoudou!" He cackled. "The cards are yours now! They've already bonded to you! Never will they leave your side, this I can assure you! Now then, shouldn't you hurry home? It is rather late."

I blinked and looked at my phone. "Ah, fuck!" I exclaimed as I got up. "Shit, if I'm late, I won't get dinner…!"

"Don't forget the deck!"

"Yeah, yeah!" I picked up the box. "See you around, shitty old man!"

I turned and ran from him before he could respond…

_But I could practically feel those crimson eyes staring at my retreating back, and the wide grin that threatened to split his face open._

…

…

…

I barely made it in time for dinner.

With how my family looked at me, part of me wished I was late. Then I could have just retreated to my room and away from their judgemental looks.

"… I'm home," I grunted, setting my bag down as I sat at the far end of the table, away from the others.

"Tch, why did you have to come home…" I heard Rei mumble under her breath.

I didn't dare respond.

"A- Ano…" Asia looked at me. "You're… Issei-san, yes? It's nice to meet you! I'm Asia Argento! I, um, didn't get to meet you yesterday, but I'll be living with you from now on! Please take care of me!" She bowed her head.

"Oi, Asia, you don't have to be nice to him," Rei told her.

"Indeed, my good for nothing son isn't worth your kindness," my mother said, and I clenched my fist under the table.

"Eh? W- Why?" Asia looked confused.

"He's practically a serial rapist," Rei said without care.

"Eh!?" She exclaimed as she looked at me. "W- What? W- Why does he live here then?"

_Ah, it's here again… The fearful look… The shock, and minor anger…_

"W- Well, he hasn't actually raped anyone," Rei told her. "But he's just one shove away from doing so, it's better you don't associate with him, Asia. Trust me."

She looked at Rei…

_Wait? What was that look?_

_Why was she looking at Rei like the girl was her saviour? Why was she hanging onto her every word?_

"… Mu… I still believe in the bible's teachings but… If Rei-san says so…"

I clenched my fist hard under the table, grabbing my bag and standing up, snatching up my plate. "I'll just go eat in my room," I told them, making my way upstairs.

"Keep it down up there, we don't want to listen to your stupid porn!" Rei yelled after me.

I dutifully ignored her as I slammed the door to my room, sitting on my bed and beginning to eat my dinner angrily.

It was bad enough that I was hated, but now Rei had people looking at her like she was some sort of messiah!

_Why!?_

_Why does she get everything!?_

_Why am I the one left with nothing to my name!? Why am I the one who has to suffer, who has to endure this humiliation, this hatred!?_

_Why… Why don't I have the power to fight back against her…?_

I set my food on the bedside table, pulling out the box from my bag and opening it, staring at the cards blankly.

_A ticket to power huh…_

I tossed the box onto the bed, the cards scattering across it.

_What a joke…_

I stared down at my hands, clenching them and unclenching them repeatedly.

_I'm nothing. Compared to her, I'm nothing._

_I'm not smart. Not strong. Not charismatic. Not approachable. Not… Anything._

_Why, god? Why did you bless her, and not me? Why did you curse me, and bless her with everything!?_

_Why does she have all the power!?_

My fists began to clench so hard, that my nails dug into my palms and began to bleed…

I didn't even feel the pain.

_Power… I need power…!_

I felt tears filling my eyes as my anger grew.

I was usually much better at holding back my emotions… But that meeting with Zelretch left unshed tears that were now pouring from a frenzy, my usually tight grasp on my emotions loosening as they all came out.

_Fuck that bitch! Fuck her, fuck her friends, fuck my parents, fuck everyone who's ever looked down on me!_

_They judge me based on the words of others, never bothering to listen to my side of the story! Nobody gives a fuck about me!_

**Whoosh…**

_Well, fuck them! I don't care what it takes!_

**Hum…**

_I don't care what I have to do!_

**Hum…!**

_I don't care what atrocities I have to commit!_

**Hum…! Whoosh!**

_I just want power!_

**Hum…!**

_Power to get my revenge!_

**Whoosh! Hum!**

_Enough power… To change this twisted world into my own image!_

**_And what would you give for such power?_ **

"Everything…!"

**WHOOSH!**

A violent burst of air and a flash of light obscured my vision and hearing as I fall off the bed, onto the floor.

I heard the compression of springs, the sign of something on the bed.

I turned around, still laying on the ground, and my eyes widened at the figure standing before me.

_Beautiful…_

Eyes of sky blue.

Hair was white as snow.

Skin that spoke of time in the sun.

What was stood before me was not just a woman, but a warrior.

Clad in white clothing with matching armour, a spear and shield in her hands, a pair of what seemed to be animal ears sitting atop her head.

I was so mesmerised; I didn't even feel the burning sensation on the back of my left hand.

"Divine Spirit, Caenis," she said, her voice a bit rough as she gave me a grin. "Manifesting under the class of Lancer, I have answered your call!"

She stared down at me with those beautiful blue eyes. "I ask you: are you my master?"

"… I am."

"Then the contract is forged!" She declared, resting her spear on her shoulder. "Together, master, we shall trample our enemies underfoot, and claim whatever it is we desire!"

_It was at that moment… That my mundane life, my life of being hated and despised… Would begin to change._


	2. II: Plans

“So, let me see if I’m understanding this all correctly.”

“Alrighty then.”

“First, you are a Divine Spirit- an existence that likens to that of a god- who has manifested as a Lancer Class Servant.”

“Yep.”

“The various cards I have actually contain the spirits and powers of various other Servants, some of which can destroy the planet in a single attack.”

“Yep.”

“And we are now in a Master/Servant relationship?”

“Oi, oi, you’re thinking something dirty over there, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

Caenis let out a sigh, rolling her eyes as she ate another crisp while laying across my bed. “I’ll explain it one more time, so you better listen this time, got it!?”

“Right!”

“These cards,” she held up one of the cards- a lancer- as she spoke, “Are known as Class Cards. Within them are the powers of Heroic Spirits, those who have etched their names into history. A good example would be someone like King Arthur. Depending on their deeds in life, Heroic Spirits can fall into multiple classes. Of course, some spirits also come from parallel worlds where things are different. King Arthur is, again, a good example. A world where he became a ruthless tyrant instead of the just King of Knights. With me so far?”

“Yes.”

“Good,” she nodded. “Now, while the relationship between you and the spirits is called a ‘Master/Servant’ relationship, it’s purely symbolic and it’s more like a partnership than anything else. You summon us, and provide us with magical energy. In exchange, we fight for you and fulfil your will, so long as it doesn’t go against our morals.”

“Then why is it called Master/Servant?”

“Because of those,” she pointed to my left hand, prompting me to look as my eyes widened in surprise.

On the back of my hand were what seemed to be red tattoos, in the shape of a pair of wings.

“The fuck!?”

“Those are known as Command Seals. Or spells, depends on who you ask,” she shrugged. “Anyway, those are absolute commands you can give to Servants that they must obey. Of course, if you have a high enough magic resistance and will you can fight off the command spell for a period of time.”

“Any limitations?”

She gave me a grin. “Good to see you’re not an idiot. Yes. While being called ‘Absolute,’ Command Seals are not actually so. If you give orders that are too vague, you dampen the effects. For example, you could tell me ‘Obey my orders,’ but all it does is make me initially inclined to do what you say, it’s still easy to fight it off. But, on the other hand, if you said ‘Use all of your strength to kill this person,’ then the command will be much more effective and allow me to use the peak of my power with ease to kill someone for you.”

“So, I should use command seals more like buffs is what you’re saying?”

She nodded. “That’s right, though your command seals are special.”

“Huh?”

“Usually, you get 3 command spells per Servant,” she said. “But that’s just stupid for you, considering your entire body would be covered in Command Seals.”

I gulped at the thought of that.

“Thankfully, you don’t have to worry about that,” she said. “Instead, your command seals regenerate over time. One seal regenerates at midnight every day… Though that still isn’t a reason to waste them, got it!?”

“R- Right,” I nodded.

“So, anything else?”

“Not really, just… I need a minute to process all of this…”

That weird old man… I thought he was just crazy, but he’d actually given me something good!

“Lancer,” I said, only for her to cut me off.

“No,” she said. “Caenis. That’s the name I was summoned under, that’s the name you’ll call me. If this were a normal situation, I’d insist you call me Lancer. However, this is _not_ a normal situation. Therefore, call me by my name.”

I felt my cheeks turn red as I looked down.

“Hah!?” She stared at me. “What are you getting embarrassed for!?”

“I… I’ve never called a girl by her first name outside of my sister…”

“Eh?” She tilted her head in confusion for a moment before she glared at me, eyes turning red. “Oi. Don’t get the wrong idea, Master. While I may have been summoned in a female body, I’m still a man.”

I felt a shudder run through my spine…

I had a feeling there was a correct response to this and, if I didn’t give it, she was going to kill me.

“S- Sorry,” I apologised. “B- But you can’t deny your body is still that of a female’s… So, for me, it’s like calling a girl I don’t know by her first name.”

She stared at me for a moment… Before she let out a sigh, eyes fading back to blue. “Well, I guess you have a point with that. Just don’t bring it up like this again, or I’ll kill you.”

“… S- Sounds reasonable.”

“I’m glad you agree,” she smirked, cracking her neck. “So, Master, what are you plans?”

“Plans?”

“You deaf? What are your plans?”

“I… I don’t quite know what you mean…”

“Don’t be play dumb,” she told me. “You wanted power, didn’t you? That’s why you summoned me, because you wanted strength. Power beyond comprehension, power to do as you wished with…” She stared into my eyes. “… So, Master, what is it you desire?”

“What I desire…?”

I desired revenge.

Not just against Rei.

Not just against my parents.

Not just against the people in Kuoh.

But against everyone.

I wanted revenge against the very world that hated perverts like me, that treated me like trash, that expected me to amount to nothing.

“… King.”

“Huh?”

“You asked what I desire,” I looked at her. “I want to be King. I want to take over this world, and rule it with an iron fist. I want power, power beyond anyone! I want to be strong enough to where I do not ask any longer! To create a world where I am the supreme ruler who takes what I want, when I want it! That is my desire, that is my wish! And I will crush anyone who gets in my way! Humans, Demons, Yokai, Monsters, even Gods!”

…

“Pft- HAHAHAHAHAHA!!” Caenis burst out in laughter, holding her stomach.

Despite myself, I felt embarrassed. “O- Oi! D- Don’t laugh at my wish!”

“HAHAHAHA!” She kept on laughing. “I- I just never expected that from you, Master! You look like something of a pushover, but you have such an earnest wish inside of you, huh?”

I felt offended by that, and gave her a glare.

“Alright.”

“What?”

Caenis grinned. “As a Tyrant myself, I will help see to your rise, Master. With myself and the aid of the other spirits… We will assure that this world bows to you.”

I stared at her, somewhat unable to believe she was agreeing so easily.

“So then, your majesty… What’s your first order?”

I felt myself smile softly.

‘Your Majesty,’ huh. Sounded really good.

“… Train me.”

She blinked in surprise. “What?”

“Train me!”

“You want to be trained?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

I clenched my fists as I stared at the ground.

“… I’ve been weak my whole life. An outcast, hated. If I’m going to be King, then I don’t want people to say I did it because I only had strong people fighting for me. I want power for myself. Enough power so that nobody will ever call me weak again.”

“Heh… I like that attitude, Master,” she said. “But, I’m not really great at training people.”

“Eh?” I stared at her. “Then what do I…?”

“But,” she smirked. “There is a heroic spirit that can.”

…

…

…

After that, Caenis ordered me to get some sleep. She explained that summoning a Servant is meant to be very mana intensive. Even though I wasn’t showing the typical signs of running out of mana, she wasn’t going to take any risks.

I didn’t go down for breakfast with my family, opting instead to pick something up from the supermarket on the way to school. Dealing with the employee’s glares was far better than dealing with the harsh words of my family.

 _‘So, Master,’_ I almost yelped as I heard Caenis’s voice in my mind. _‘Ah, sorry. I forgot to mention this, huh? The Master and Servant share a telepathic link, it lets us talk into the other’s mind. Hence why you’re hearing my voice in your mind right now._

 _‘It’s fine, just a bit of warning would be nice next time,’_ I replied. _‘So, what’s up? And call me Issei, damn it.’_

 _‘Right, right,’_ I could practically imagine her hand waving right now. _‘So, I want to know why everyone is glaring at you so hatefully? What did you do to them?’_

 _‘I didn’t do anything,’_ I told her. _‘… But my sister, on the other hand…’_

_‘Ho, ho! This sounds like a story! Go on, Issei, tell me!’_

I let out a sigh. _‘… Ever since I was around seven or eight years old, I’ve been a pervert. It happened when I met some old man in a park after my only friend moved away, and he introduced me to the glory of breasts.’_

_‘… This is not how I pictured this story going.’_

_‘I truly and sincerely believe that breasts are the ultimate gift God gave humans, for there are many other mammals and animals out there, but only humans have breasts! They are the source of men’s hopes and dreams, and should be worshipped! Big, small, it matters not!_

_‘How are you thinking all this with a straight face?’_

_‘Your breasts are a perfect example of why breasts should be worshipped, Caenis!’_

_‘Hah!?’_

_‘They are big, but not big enough that they take away from your figure! They bounce with every movement you make, but not overly so to make it appear like you’re trying to show them off! Furthermore, they look soft, and smooth! If I’m correct, they are not only soft and smooth, but also have a nice squishiness to them that would make them perfect pillows to sleep on after a long day of hard work!’_

_‘I- I’m a guy, but why am I feeling so flattered and angry at the same time right now!?’_

_‘Yes! Breasts are truly the ultimate gift from god! They deserve to be worshipped, praised, and beloved by all-!’_

_‘I get it already, you can stop!’_

_‘Ah? Oh um…’_ I felt my face turn red as I looked down. _‘S- Sorry… I usually have better control over myself than that…’_

_‘I- It’s fine, stupid Master… So, that doesn’t tell me the story.’_

_‘Eh? Oh um, right! So, after I fell in love with breasts and became a pervert… There was an incident.’_

_‘An incident?’_

_‘Yeah, an incident. It caused me to lose my memories.’_

_‘What?’_

I nodded, closing my eyes as I recalled it.

In my memory, it was as if I was just walking down the street, thinking about breasts, before the world went black around me and I was captured in a dream.

When the darkness faded, I was awake in a hospital, finding out that I’d lost six months of my memories.

_‘I don’t know what the incident was, my parents nor sister told me. But what I do know is that, after I woke up in the hospital, my sister was much colder towards me. She began to spread rumours about me. Rumours of me peeking at the girl’s locker room, of stealing girl’s panties, of taking pictures of them in compromising positions and masturbating to them.’_

_‘And you didn’t do any of that stuff?’_

_‘Of course not!’_ I snapped at her. _‘I’m a pervert, not a criminal! But my sister had established herself as a forever popular girl in the six months I can’t remember, and thus people were willing to believe her and scorn me. When I turned fourteen, the allegations were getting worse and worse, to the point that the police got involved. Of course, there was no evidence because I was innocent, so they had to drop the case. But that just made my reputation even worse as now people think I raped someone, but got off on a technicality.’_

_‘Wow, I… I’m sorry, Master. But… Is it really that bad?’_

_‘Just listen to the people whispering around us, Caenis,’_ I resisted the urge to chuckle humourlessly. _‘They don’t hide their scorn of me, they don’t hide their hate of me. Even other perverts hate me, because they don’t dare go against Rei. The only two friends I ever had, outside of Iri-kun, abandoned me within 1 week of being friends after they found out Rei didn’t like me. Everyone believes I’m a rapist, no matter what I say, and thus I have no hope of living peacefully in this town.’_

_‘And your parents?’_

_‘Over time when Rei was shown to be a model student and I was shown to be average despite how hard I studied, they eventually just began to take her words as gospel and began to shun me too. They see me as nothing but a disgrace to the family name… It’s why I’m in desperate need of money, so I can move to another town somewhere far away when they inevitably kick me out when I turn eighteen.’_

_‘Jeez… You haven’t had it easy; have you Master?’_

_‘Issei. And that, Caenis, is an understatement.’_

_‘So, you need money?’_

_‘Yes.’_

_‘You do have some Servant options for summoning then.’_

_‘Eh? I do!?’_

_‘Well, you could summon Servants with higher luck. An example is Ozymandias, also known as Ramses II.’_

_‘Wait, isn’t he the guy in Moses’s story? His adopted brother?’_

_‘Indeed. You could also summon a Servant with the skill Golden Rule. However, those are few and far between, and the ones with the higher rankings are a bit… Unstable to control. Which does leave one more option.’_

_‘And that is?’_

_‘Queen of Sheba.’_

_‘… Who?’_

_‘Don’t know her? Hm, I suppose you aren’t that interested in history; you don’t even know my legend and I was one of the argonauts!’_

_‘You were one of the argonauts!? With Jason!?’_

_‘Questions for later. Queen of Sheba was the favoured lover of King Solomon of Israel; the only human that Goetia ever trusted.’_

_‘Goetia?’_

_‘Don’t worry about it. Anyway, Queen of Sheba has a lot of what you could get ‘Get rich quick’ ideas. If you give her a small portion of money to get started, she can do a few get rich quick schemes to make money in a hurry.’_

_‘How much are we talking?’_

_‘That I don’t know, Issei.’_

_‘Damn… Is there not another option?’_

_‘Well… There is one, but it means drawing attention to yourself.’_

_‘What is it?’_

_‘Installing.’_

_‘What?’_

_‘Installing. It’s another power of the Class Cards. You can ‘install’ them, obtaining the skills, parameters, and Noble Phantasms of the Servant you have installed. You also tend to obtain the clothing of the Servant, and sometimes a minor alteration in appearance.’_

_‘Eh!? There’s such a way to get stronger!?’_

_‘Don’t get too cocky, you need to train first. While you can install Servants, usually it needs a medium to do so safely. You lack that medium, meaning it would place a strain on your body to have a Servant installed for a prolonged period of time.’_

_‘… How much of a strain are we talking here?’_

_‘You could have a heart attack after five minutes.’_

_‘That’s bad.’_

_‘Indeed.’_

_‘Then what do I do? You said there’s a heroic spirit that can train me, but you didn’t elaborate on it.’_

_‘Five minutes is only a guess, Issei. At best, you probably have around ten.’_

_‘That… That isn’t much better.’_

_‘I know. The teacher I have in mind… Hm… Well, she doesn’t train people unless she sees a great amount of potential in them. You could summon her, but there’s a chance she’d reject you on the spot. And, while she won’t cause a ruckus, it’s still something we’d have to keep an eye on until we can get you enough money to get a house.’_

I let out a sigh as I crossed through the school gates. _‘So, in the end, money is the priority, huh? I suppose that means I’ll need to summon another Servant with high luck… Can you recommend anyone, Caenis?’_

 _‘Well!’_ I could feel her grin through the bond. _‘Not to brag, but my Luck is Rank B, I could probably gather up a good amount of money through gambling.’_

_‘But you don’t have ID, how will you get in?’_

_‘Just leave that to me, Issei!’_

I let out another sigh… _‘Well, if you’re determined…’_ I pulled out my credit card, staring at it before sighing as I ‘accidentally’ dropped it. _‘There, my card. The pin code is 7492. Take out ten thousand yen. If you somehow lose a lot of money, you can take out another five thousand but no more than that. Make sure you set up an identity for yourself with the bank and deposit the money, I don’t want to get caught up in a scandal as they try to find out where the money came from.’_

_‘Just leave it to me, Issei! By the time you’re done with school, you’ll be able to swim in money!’_

I felt her presence mute in my mind, as if the bond was blocked off, and glanced back to see my card was gone.

_‘I really hope I didn’t make the wrong decision…’_

…

…

…

I let out a tired sigh as I walked out of the school, glancing to the side as I saw Rei walking with Asia to the old school building. _‘What the hell goes in there…?’_

I shook my head as I kept walking. _‘Whatever, none of my business. All I care about is getting stronger, getting money, and breasts!’_

_‘Do you regularly worship breasts in your own thoughts, Issei?’_

I almost jumped in surprise, though I did feel my eyes widening in shock. _‘Ah, Caenis!’_

_‘Yo!’_

_‘How did it go?’_

_‘Pretty well!’_

_‘How much did you make?’_

_‘One hundred million.’_

I stopped walking and coughed hard, banging my chest, getting some weird looks in the process. _‘One hundred-!?’_

_‘I could have raked it up to a billion, but the casinos kicked me out. I did have some bad luck here and there but, overall, I didn’t have many issues. If my luck were A Rank or higher, I wouldn’t have lost a single game.’_

_‘… Luck is one terrifying parameter.’_

_‘Hahaha! Ain’t that the truth, Issei! So, I deposited the money in the bank, and transferred about half of what I won into your account.’_

_‘What!?’_

_‘It won’t look as suspicious if the money comes from another account, right? Besides, cameras caught me in casinos all day, which means there’s no question about where my money came from.’_

I couldn’t help but concede her point. I’d planned to make my transactions through Caenis, but it seemed I could hold off on that for now.

_‘Right, if that’s the case, I want you to gamble regularly. Maybe not every day, but every two to three days should work. That way, money won’t be an issue for us. I’ll bring up some house listings later, and we can decide on a suitable base. Sound good?’_

_‘Yeah! By the way, we’ll need to summon a Caster Servant tonight.’_

_‘Huh? Why?’_

_‘Because we need to be able to secure our base once we have it, of course! Caster’s excel at making a territory that others can’t intrude upon… Or if they could, it would be suicide! Attacking a Caster in their own territory is a foolish move, even if you’re a Saber Servant with higher magic resistance than others!’_

… That sounded useful. That sounded incredibly useful!

_‘The problem is that Caster’s, much more than other Servants, require a larger upkeep due to their attacks primarily being magic based. Therefore, we need a quiet place without a lot of people around to do the summoning, or a place we’ll be able to escape from later.’_

_‘Shouldn’t we get a house first before we summon Caster?’_

_‘I did that already.’_

I stopped walking. _‘… What?’_

_‘I went on your computer, looked through the catalogues in your room, noted the ones you had marked, and got a fully furbished, big house that’s ready to be moved into at a moment’s notice.’_

_‘… Did you look in my closet…?’_

_‘No, Issei, I didn’t look at your porno mags.’_

_‘Then why the hell do you know that’s where they were!?’_

_‘…’_

_‘…’_

_‘So, do you know a good place to do the summoning?’_

_‘Ignoring me!?’_

I rubbed the sides of my head… While I appreciated that Caenis had clearly thought ahead on this matter, I’d have preferred if she’d given me some warning before then. Well, at least I could safely move out of the house now. I’d have to wait for a day when Rei was out so she couldn’t talk my parents into making me stay.

You the viewer must be asking, “But, Issei, why would she make you stay?”

The answer to that is simple. If I stay, she can make sure I suffer even more.

… Yes, my sister is that much of a bitch.

And I wouldn’t be able to leave either, because I was still technically a minor. Therefore, I wouldn’t be able to leave of my own free will until I was eighteen.

But, if my parents consented, I could go. I just needed to wait until Rei was out of the house for a prolonged period of time, and I could move out without my parents roadblocking me.

 _‘I know a place,’_ I told her. _‘The abandoned church, covered by the forest surrounding the town. Nobody goes there any more, it should be just out of the way enough for us to conduct the summoning in peace… So, how do I summon a Servant anyway?’_

 _‘Huh?’_ I could _feel_ her blink. _‘What do you mean how? You summoned me, didn’t you?’_

_‘I mean, yeah, but I think that must have just been the cards responding to my emotions or something. I didn’t use any chant or any magic circle or anything.’_

_‘Haa… It seems like I’m going to need to give you a crash course in using your magic circuits, Issei.’_

_‘Magic Circuits?’_

_‘Hoh boy…’_

…

…

…

That night, I led Caenis through the forest towards the abandoned church.

Caenis had neglected to mention something that now made it hard for me to look at her.

It seemed she’d done some shopping with some of the money I’d given her. Before he was now dressed in a black bikini, hot pants, and a white jacket with a single thigh high sock on her left leg.

It did _nothing_ to hide her body.

“Oi, why aren’t you looking at me?”

“Have you seen yourself? I’m not looking at you because if I do, I’ll get a boner and a nosebleed.”

“… Are you gay?”

“Of course not!”

“We’re both guys, why would you get hard looking at me?”

“You know damn well why, you asshole!”

I heard her snickering from beside me.

_‘This girl…!’_

I tried to change the subject, “So, summoning a Caster. Any idea on who to summon?”

“Hm…” She put a hand on her chin. “At least a B rank in Territory Creation is a must. While Item Construction would be nice to give you a bit more protection, it isn’t so much a priority right now since we’re relatively unknown. You can always summon another Caster later…”

“By that logic, since I am still relatively unknown, wouldn’t a Servant with a lower rank be better? With a territory that isn’t as fortified, people are less likely to notice it.”

“Both have their pros and cons, Issei. But are you saying you’d like a less defended territory over a more fortified one?”

“Not at all, I was just asking.”

She gave a nod. “Good. A king who cannot ask questions when they are unsure is one who will certainly lead their kingdom to ruin.”

“No pressure then,” I felt a bead of sweat fall down my brow. “So, any named suggestions I could get?”

She rubbed her chin. “Well… Off the top of my head, I can think of three. Medea of Colchis, Circe, or Semiramis, the latter of which is an Assassin Servant.

I stared at her. “Why an Assassin?”

“She’s a rare Servant that is summoned with a skill called ‘Dual Class,’ which grants her the skills of both an Assassin and a Caster. Her Rank in Territory Creation is EX, one of only Seven other Servants possessing the rank… Well, technically eight, but that one is only in rare circumstances that don’t apply here.”

“Right…”

“Well those are the three I can think of off the top of my head,” she told me. “I don’t recommend Semiramis, she is known as the world’s first poisoner.”

I gulped at that… “I really need to read up on my history and mythology.”

“Yes, you do,” she nodded in agreement. “Medea… I did know her on board the Argo. But… That was when she was younger, before Jason ditched her and she went a bit crazy. Which just leaves Circe.”

“I kind of recognise that name,” I said, raking my brain. “She was… A girl who was in love with Odysseus?”

Caenis nodded. “Yeah… From how Medea described her, she just wants to love and be loved in return. Which, obviously, Odysseus didn’t give her since he was dedicated to his wife, or lover, or whatever she was to him, I don’t really remember all that well.”

I froze mid-step.

She looked back at me in confusion. “Oi, Issei. You good?”

I didn’t respond at all as I pondered over her words.

_To love and be loved in return._

God, how I could relate with that…

To simply want to be loved, to be cared for, to be acknowledged and held.

To have someone to greet you when you come home with a smile.

To have someone who will stick with you, even if the world itself becomes your enemy.

Someone who you could argue with, and have disagreements with, but still be able to say ‘I love you’ to them at the end of the day.

What I would not give…

“Oi,” I jumped as Caenis yelled right into my ear, making me hold it in pain. “Good, you were zoning out on me. What were you thinking about?”

“… To love and be loved in return.”

“Huh?”

“It isn’t too much to ask, is it…? To love and be loved…”

“… Are you talking about Circe…? Or, perhaps…”

“… Let’s go, Caenis.”

The rest of our trip to the Church was spent in silence.

Once we arrived, however.

“Get behind me, Master.”

I blinked in surprise as Caenis moved in front of me, summoning her spear and shield at a moment’s notice.

“What’s wrong, Caenis?”

“The church… It smells like blood, feathers, and death.”

I gulped… Loudly.

“I want you to stay here while I investigate the inside. Do not move unless you hear me talk to you through telepathy, got it?”

“I got it.”

She nodded and headed inside cautiously, into the darkness of the church.

I waited outside, nervous…

Why did the church smell like blood and death?

… Actually, why did it smell like feathers? Were there some birds in there or something?

Caenis didn’t take too long to come out, only around five minutes.

“How is it?”

“All clear,” she said. “… But we might not want to go into the basement…”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want you to see the pile of corpses.”

I felt my eyes widen at her words. “What!?”

“Yeah… I don’t know what happened here, but something must have recently.”

I put a hand on my chin, staring at the ground in contemplation of what could have happened.

_Wait._

“That girl, Asia,” I spoke up suddenly, making Caenis look at me. “The one who moved into my house. She has a slightly Italian accent… And, when she was introduced to us, she was wearing something similar to a nun outfit.”

“Oh?”

I nodded. “Yeah… And why would she worship Rei so much? Something must have happened here… And I’ll eat my shoe if it didn’t involve those two somehow…”

Caenis frowned, rubbing the back of her head. “I also sensed the faintest amounts of magical energy in the area. Which means your sister must be aware of the moonlit world.”

I bit my thumbnail…

“And, considering she joined the ORC suddenly, I’m willing to bet that the entirety of the club is involved… With Rias Gremory as the leader.”

“Wait, did you say Gremory?”

I looked at her and nodded. “Um… Yeah.”

“As in, Duke Gremory? From the Lesser Keys of Solomon? A Demon?”

I froze.

“… Demon?”

Caenis nodded. “Yeah… It’s possible your sister might have made a contract with a demon or something along those lines…”

I felt my mouth grow dry.

“Which means now time really _is_ of the essence,” Caenis said seriously. “If your sister has made a contract with a demon, and they are active in this town, we really cannot afford to fuck around at all. Have you decided which Servant you’re going to summon?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I’ve decided.”

“Good,” she nodded, leading me into the church, and I got my first look at the interior.

It was a wreck.

Benches broken, turned over, blood staining the floors, and strange, black feathers strewn across the ground.

A rustic scent was in the air, one I could recognise as blood. Dried blood specifically, meaning whatever went down here happened a while ago.

“You see what I mean, Issei?”

“Yeah…” I nodded, kneeling down in the middle of the room and setting the box down.

I opened the lid, reaching inside and pulling out about half of the deck, and began filing through them.

As I filed through them, I felt basic information enter my mind. The name of the spirit, their class, and their appearance.

_Gilgamesh. Archer. Blonde hair, red eyes._

_Dioscuri. Saber. Blonde hair, blue eyes._

_Super Orion. Archer. Brown hair, brown eyes._

_Francis Drake. Rider. Pink hair, blue eyes._

Many names and appearances filtered through my mind.

Some of them I knew.

Many of them I did not.

I finally stopped as I came to the card I was searching for.

_Circe. Caster. Pink hair, blue-green eyes. Pointed ears._

I set the rest of the cards back in the box, pausing as I felt feelings of disappointment radiating from the cards.

They wanted to be summoned.

… No, they wanted to be useful?

The spirits within the cards wanted to be useful to me, to aid me, to help me in achieving my goals.

I felt… Touched.

 _‘I will summon you…’_ I thought. _‘But only when I am ready…’_

I closed the lid, the disappointed feelings fading away.

“That’s Circe’s card?” Caenis asked.

“Yes,” I nodded. “So, how does this work?”

“Usually, there is a lengthy chant to go with the summoning,” Caenis said. “But you have the card containing the spirit, so I _think_ we can forego that. Instead, I want you to try just channelling your mana into the card and saying ‘I summon you’ or something like that. You remember how to channel mana, right?”

I nodded.

Caenis was not an experienced magus, at all. But she knew the basics, and was able to help me unlock my circuits. I had Thirty circuits, though she couldn’t tell me if they were a good quality.

“Then let’s get to it.”

I nodded, lifting up the card so I was face level with it.

I stared at the depicted image on it, of someone in a robe holding a staff.

_And I saw her._

_A beautiful young woman with pink hair, sitting on a dock, staring out at the sea._

_Sitting._

_Waiting._

_Waiting for someone, for anyone, to come._

_Someone to grant her the love she was looking for._

The image of a sword being drawn filled my mind as my circuits turned on, lighting up blue on my skin and flowing into the card I was holding.

_The young woman looked at the sky, hearing the call of the summoning._

_And she could feel it._

_A damaged soul, just like her._

_One who sought what she did. One who desired love, acceptance, and wanted the same in return._

_As that hand reached out to her…_

“I summon you! Circe!”

_She reached out and grasped it with her own, determined to never let go._

…

…

…

Far away, on Mount Olympus, Poseidon was speaking with Hecate about the strange feeling he had experienced the previous day.

The feeling of someone who should have been dead, someone he knew was dead.

How could he not know the presence of that person?

A woman he had raped, and defiled, who screamed at him when he offered her a gift and demanded to be turned into a man so she could no longer be forced upon.

Never had the God felt so guilty in all his life than when she had screamed at him and looked at him with such hatred.

“I am telling you, Hecate,” Poseidon insisted. “I felt her! For a brief moment, I felt her presence! It wasn’t like a descendant’s presence; it was the genuine article!”

“And I am telling you, Poseidon, that is impossible,” Hecate said calmly. “Hades keeps careful watch over the dead, particularly the souls of those who claim to be reincarnations of heroes. He has confirmed not one soul has left his domain; therefore, it is impossible!”

“But…”

“No buts!” She said firmly. “Now, you have disturbed me enough. I need to…”

Hecate was cut off as _she_ felt a presence. A presence that had long since faded from the world.

Her gaze snapped into the distance, eyes widening in shock.

“What?” Poseidon asked. “Hecate, what is wrong?”

“It can’t be…” She whispered. “… Circe?”

…

…

…

I felt my skin tingle as a rush of wind filled the church; the hum of magic loud as the air glowed with blue particles of light…

And then she appeared.

Forming from the head down, as if a screen were being lowered, she appeared.

Hair of pink.

Blue-green eyes.

Pointed ears.

Robes of white.

And beautiful brown wings, like that of a falcon.

“Yep, that’s her…” I heard Caenis mutter under her breath, but all my attention was stolen by the beauty in front of me.

Her eyes locked onto mine, and I saw it.

_Hope._

_Longing._

_Desire._

_Fear._

It was like staring into a mirror.

Her lips curled into a smile.

“Servant Caster,” she said. “Now that you’ve summoned me, I won’t let you be lonely ever again…”

She stepped forwards and placed her hand on my cheek, staring into my eyes with a fierce intensity.

“That’s because you summoned me, the Falcon Witch.”


	3. III: Preparations

There were a few moments of silence after I summoned Circe, only the fading hum of magic and the sound of the wind filling the air.

“So, you done stroking his cheek lovingly yet?” Caenis’s voice came, earning a blush from Circe as she backed up from me, shifting her gaze to the tanned Lancer.

“Caeneus,” Circe said. “My niece, Medea, told me a little bit about you. I thought you were a man?”

“Blame how the stupid throne works,” she snapped. “I can’t control it.”

“Yes, the throne is rather strange in how it works.”

“Strange is putting it lightly, birdy.”

“I believe this is the case of the pot calling the kettle a twat.”

“… Don’t you mean black?”

“I know what I said.”

“Um,” I spoke up, making both of them look at me. “Not to interrupt your whole bonding moment, but if we can focus on what’s important…?”

“Sounds good,” Caenis nodded.

“I suppose we can argue later,” Circe agreed. “So, how may I help you?”

“I’ve recently bought a new property-.”

“ _I_ recently bought a new property,” Caenis cut in with a smirk.

“Caenis, not now.”

“Right, right.”

“As I was saying, I’ve bought a new property, and I need it protected from Supernatural attacks and the like. And I need various magic tools… Not for offensive purposes, but to protect me.”

Circe nodded at my words. “So, you want your property warded from the supernatural, and you want some protection. Sounds fair… But, can I ask why?”

“Oh, oh!” Caenis spoke up. “I wanna take this one, can I?”

I gave her a look. “It’s my ambition, why do you want to?”

“Because I’ve kind of gotten used to explaining things now.”

I kept staring at her before sighing. “… Fine.”

She pumped her fist. “Aw yeah!” She turned to Circe. “So, it’s like this! Mister Perverted Master over there- “

“I hate you.”

“- Wants to take over the world. He’s a bit of a weakling right now, but I have an idea of which Servant to Summon to help train him up. While they can condition his physical body, he still needs a place he can be safe, and train in peace. That’s where you come in! We need you to protect the big house we’ve got, and build an underground training area, as well as set up a workshop for you to teach him about Magecraft!”

“… That is… Quite a tall order,” Circe said, after hearing Caenis’s explanation.

“So, you can’t?”

“Don’t patronise me, stupid tyrant,” Circe snapped. “Of course, I can! But it isn’t cheap, I’ll need materials. And lots of them.”

“We’ll get them.”

“Huh?” Circe turned her gaze to me.

“We will get you whatever materials we need to for this to work,” I repeated.

She stared at me. “… Tell me, why do you seek to be a king?” She asked carefully.

“Because I am weak,” I told her. “I am weak, discriminated against, and hated…” I clenched my fists. “I want to prove them wrong. I want to show them that I’m more than what they make me out to be.”

“I could easily make it stop with hypnotism,” she said to me. “Your current path will be filled with danger, death, heartache, and even possibly betrayal from allies you make down the line. Even knowing what awaits you, do you still seek to go down this path?”

I paused as I considered her words…

Was I willing to?

Did I really want to live a life like that?

With danger that could kill me?

With the blood of hundreds, thousands, millions, billions of people on my hands?

With allies I make possibly betraying me and trying to bring me down?

Was I truly willing to live a life like that?

_What are you talking about? You already know the answer._

“Yes.”

I had chosen this path.

Perhaps I hadn’t truly seen all the dangers or hardships that would come with my path, but I had chosen it nonetheless. And I would stick with it…

To the end.

Circe, as if reading my thoughts, smiled. “Then rest assured, master, this Circe shall assure your ascension. Even if our enemies are monsters, mortals, or gods.”

“Good,” Caenis said. “Because, if you’d turned him down…” Her eyes turned red. “I’d have had to kill you.”

My gaze turned to Caenis with wide eyes, not expecting that.

Circe only raised an eyebrow.

“Were you expecting anything less, Issei?” Caenis asked me. “I told you that I’d make you king. Right now, it is you against the world. If she isn’t with us, she’s against us. And, obviously, I can’t have that. I would have cut her down without a moment of hesitation.”

“She’s right,” Circe nodded in agreement. “I’m afraid, until you reach a certain level of strength, that is the mentality you will need to carry. It is us against the world. Are you willing to accept that?”

I slowly looked up at the ceiling…

And then I looked back at them both with what may have been the most serious expression I’d ever made. “Yes.”

“I’m so glad we have a master who is listening to what we say,” Caenis muttered. “A competent master is always nice.”

“Who are you saying is incompetent? Kirschtaria, or Ritsuka?”

“Ritsuka, obviously.”

“I dare you to say that in front of Da Vinci.”

I wisely decided to not ask what they were talking about.

…

…

…

After making sure I got home safely and quietly, Caenis took Circe to the house she’d bought so she could set up barriers to protect it, as well as so Caenis could order various other things online that Circe would need to construct the things we needed.

My walk to school the next morning was fairly boring. Both Caenis and Circe were cut off from the bond, likely shopping for other materials Circe needed.

I made my way to my seat, keeping my headphones on my head as I pulled out my notebook. I could see the distasteful glares people were giving me, but I ignored them.

After so many years of being shunned, being able to ignore glares became essential. Whispers were… Less difficult to cope with.

Finally, the teacher walked in and told everyone to take their seats. I lowered my headphones, tapping a button on the side to pause my music.

Class was… Normal.

Normal… Until I finally shifted my gaze over to Rei and Asia, and I had to visibly stop myself from reacting.

I could see it.

Something… Clinging to them.

An energy.

I could almost call it miasma.

Rei’s was black swirling with dark red colours, taking on the vague form of a dragon’s head.

Asia’s was a radiance of light, blotted with inky black dots, forming a pair of angelic wings behind her, that flickered into more bat-like wings, before returning to angelic ones.

_‘What the fuck!?’_

_‘Master?’_ I heard Circe’s voice in my mind. _‘Is something wrong?’_

_‘There’s… Something clinging to my sister and her friend!’_

_‘What do you mean?’_

I did my best to explain it, even though it made me sound a bit crazy. I also made sure I wasn’t looking at them too obviously, I didn’t need even _more_ rumours spreading.

_‘Oh, I think I know what’s going on.’_

_‘What is it?’_

_‘Once your magic circuits have had time to settle, like yours, you obtain an innate ‘sense’ that helps you detect Magecraft. It can manifest as anything, but it is most effective when manifesting as one of the five main senses. You are rather fortunate, yours has manifested in sight.’_

_‘So, what I’m seeing…?’_

_‘Is the manifestation representing their magical energy. It seems your sister is involved in the supernatural, as is the Asia girl. Based on your description, her power is of a darker nature, mixed with that of a dragon. And Asia’s is a more holy energy, blotted with the darkness of demons. Her angelic wings indicate her pure nature, but their flickering to bat wings show she is susceptible to corruption.’_

That was... Useful.

Very useful.

It meant I’d be able to learn about an enemy just from looking at them, so long as they were involved in the supernatural.

_‘I must say, Master, you really lucked out with your ability to sense Magecraft. Mine manifests in a Sixth Sense, which can be unreliable.’_

_‘Then I suppose I’ll count my blessings… What are you and Caenis doing, anyway?’_

_‘Shopping,’_ she told me. _‘Many of my materials won’t be here for a few days, so we’re buying what materials we can now. As well as some things we think you might need once you move in.’_

_‘Such as?’_

_‘Various cooking utensils, cook books, some workout equipment, and other things.’_

_‘Right… Keep it up then, I’m going to focus up on class.’_

_‘As you wish, Master. Caenis will join you once school is over.’_

_‘Wait, what do you mean by that?’_

I didn’t get the response.

 _‘Why do I have a bad feeling…?’_ I couldn’t help but think to myself.

I let out a soft sigh and focused up on the lesson, deciding to put it out of my mind for now. It was future Issei’s problem. Present Issei didn’t have to deal with that shit.

Throughout the day, I learnt more than I think I ever might have wanted to about the Occult Research Club.

Whenever I saw _any_ of the members, I saw that aura clinging to them, taking on forms.

Rias Gremory’s took on the form of a deep crimson entity with a distinctly feminine appearance, wearing something that reminded me of a duchess’s crown. Where their eyes should have been sat a pair of spiralling galaxies that saw more than I ever could have dreamed… And an orb that screamed _death_ in their hands.

Akeno Himejima’s took on a… _Twisted_ form. The left side was completely back, matched with a bat-like wing and a horn atop their head. The right side was violet with an angelic wing and what looked like half of a cracked halo. Its form crackled with lightning, a sadistic grin on its lips.

Yuuto Kiba’s took on the form of a dark swordsman, horns atop their head, and a blood red gaze filled with vengeance. There were flickers of white light in its body, but they were quickly snuffed out by the darkness.

Koneko Toujou’s appeared as a grey entity. Bat wings emerged from their back, and horns were on their head. But they also had a pair of cat ears, and twin cat tails coming out lower down their back.

Just the demonic appearances alone confirmed it for me… The horns were more than enough of a giveaway, but the bat wings confirmed it.

The Occult Research Club were all demons.

No wonder they were all so fucking perfect…

After all, what’s the best way to make someone not believe you’re a demon? Make yourself seem to be the complete opposite so nobody even considers it a possibility.

But the biggest shock came when I saw Sona Shitori walking down the halls.

An aura of a vivid, dark blue. It held a masculine figure, the head of leopard, and the wings of some sort of bird- a griffin jumped to mind. What looked to be a stream of water flowed around the figure, the eyes showing a bottomless depravity…

_Oh god… The Student Council President was a demon too!?_

What had Caenis called that book when I’d mentioned Rias Gremory the previous night? The Lesser Keys of Solomon?

I needed to read that shit, or at least do my research on the demons in it as soon as possible!

Thankfully, I managed to avoid any incidents until after school…

As I walked out of the school, headphones on my head, I looked to the school gates, seeing a crowd gathering there, and I tilted my head in confusion. What were they all doing?

I made my way through the crowd, people giving me disgusted looks as I brushed past them… And my jaw dropped at the person standing there.

It was Caenis.

Clad in her bikini, booty shorts, and jacket. Her ears lay flat against her head, hiding them expertly in her white hair.

She was tapping her arm as she leaned against the entrance of the school, looking bored. A silver motorcycle was nearby, so I just presumed it was hers.

No.

Please don’t tell me she was waiting for me.

Please, for the love of god, don’t tell me she was waiting for-!

She spotted me.

And she grinned.

_Oh, please no-!_

“Oi, Issei!” She waved at me.

Everyone’s eyes immediately turned to me as they cleared from around me, giving her a clear view of me.

“… Caenis,” I said, my voice strained to my own ears. “What an unexpected surprise. _Why_ are you here?”

“To pick you up, of course!” She said, like that made perfect sense. “We made plans, remember?”

The whispers around me made me want to drown myself and die.

_“Plans? Like, date plans!?”_

_“That rapist Hyoudou got a girlfriend!?”_

_“It must be some kind of joke, maybe he hired her or something?”_

“Yes, of course…” I said, giving a very strained smile. “Shall we go then?”

“Of course!” She nodded, gesturing to the bike. “Hop on!”

I gave her my deluxe ‘we are going to have a serious talk about this’ look, before I made my way towards the bike…

But froze in place as I heard Rei’s voice.

“What the heck is going on here?”

I looked back; everyone having cleared the way. My sister stood there, hands on her hips. Asia was nearby, looking a bit confused and worried.

“Hah?” Caenis tilted her head. “Who are you supposed to be?”

“I’m that idiot’s sister, unfortunately,” Rei told her. “What are you doing with him, huh?”

“Nunya.”

“Nunya- what?”

“Nunya business!”

Despite how tense I was feeling, I couldn’t stop myself from snorting in amusement.

Rei glowered at Caenis. “Do you even know who he is?”

“Should I care?”

“He’s a pervert!” She snapped. “He’s just a few bad incidents short of being a full-on rapist! You should stop wasting your time, someone like that can’t be changed!”

“Yeah!” Someone jeered.

“Rapist Hyoudou!” Another yelled.

“He should just go and die!” A third agreed.

More and more jeers were shot out, and I shifted my gaze to the ground, clenching my fists slowly.

_Again._

_It’s happening again._

_They all follow her words like blind, ignorant sheep…_

_They don’t even consider the possibility that I could be innocent…_

_I hate this… I hate this…! I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate-!_

I was cut out of my thoughts by a sound.

One I wasn’t expecting.

Caenis’s laughter.

My gaze snapped up.

Her head was thrown back, letting out a loud laugh that silenced the jeers.

The look of confusion on Rei’s face was _priceless_.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Sorry, sorry,” she kept laughing. “I just haven’t heard such bullshit in years, I couldn’t help it!”

“What-?” She stared at Caenis in shock, as if she truly couldn’t believe she was being called out.

“You heard me.”

“I’m not lying!” She snapped. “If you go with him alone, he’s sure to try and rape you or something!”

Caenis’s laughter came to an immediate halt, and I felt a cold chill rush over my skin.

No longer was Caenis calm.

The mere thought of me raping her… Something about it had driven her to a great level of anger.

And then I saw it.

The aura of Caenis’s power.

It was a shimmering gold, a towering figure that loomed over us like we were mere mortals. The figure had long hair, done into a single braid, and was dressed in fine white robes. The face was similar to Caenis’s own, but the face and body were more masculine. Atop their head was a crown with three sharp points.

In their left hand was a shield, bearing a golden infinity symbol with a sword through the middle of it.

And, in the right, was a three-pronged spear that radiated power.

 _Trident_.

“First point, you spoiled little shit,” Caenis spoke, her tone no longer kind in the slightest. It was filled with such vehemence, such anger, that it made everyone take a step away from her. “You assume he,” she jutted a thumb at me, “Is strong enough to hold me down so he can rape me.”

“… Thank you for the vote of confidence, but I still feel insulted…” I muttered.

“Second,” she continued, as if I hadn’t spoken. “You assume that he’s also smart enough to rape someone and get away with it.”

“… Again, thank you for the vote of confidence, but these backhanded compliments are really insulting…”

“Third…” She all but snarled. “Is that you seem to think I’m stupid.”

“W- What-?”

“Do you think I’m like the rest of these fucking sheep?” She sneered, glancing over the populace of the school with distaste. “Do you think I don’t know the scent of bullshit? Do you think I don’t know the eyes of a _liar?_ ”

“I- I’m not lying-!”

“I wasn’t done yet, you stupid bitch!” She snapped. There was such authority in her words that Rei’s mouth shut instantly. “The fourth, and final, point is that you seem to think I’m going to tolerate this bullshit…”

Her aura intensified, and I saw Rei and Asia both starting to tremble.

“You are nothing before me. You are just a spoiled, angry, insignificant little girl who hates her brother for some sort of childish reason, and stomps her foot angrily like a kindergartner throwing a temper tantrum when she doesn’t get her way…

_“Get out of my sight and never cross it again, you insignificant spec.”_

Rei began to back up. I didn’t know what she was seeing, but it was enough to make her look at Caenis with horror in her gaze. Asia looked pretty scared too, hiding behind Rei.

“What exactly is going on here?” The crisp, clean voice of Sona Shitori came in as she walked over, a stern expression on her face.

“Nothing at all,” Caenis said, her aura complete dissipating into nothingness. “I was just waiting outside the gates for my friend to arrive,” she nodded at me. “Now that he’s here, and if people are done being nosy,” she cast a scowl at everyone, who were all suddenly finding the ground and sky very interesting. “We were just leaving.”

She cast a gaze at me, then to Caenis, then to a terrified looking Rei and Asia. “Then why do Hyoudou and Argento both look afraid?”

“Perhaps they saw something they shouldn’t have,” she said. “It sure told me a whole lot about them, you know.”

I got the feeling there was more to Caenis’s statement than she was letting on, because I saw Sona’s eyes harden.

“I see…” Her tone was frosty. “And are you going to continue causing trouble here?”

“I only cause trouble if people insist on causing trouble for me, or Mr Obsessed-With-Boobs over here.”

“Okay, I know that’s true, but did you need to point it out?” I asked her.

“Yes,” she nodded. “Now get on the fucking bike.”

I grumbled lightly, but climbed on the back of the bike, putting on a helmet.

“Simple,” she told Sona. “Don’t mess with me and my innocent and naïve little friend, and I don’t mess with you. If that’s all, we’re behind schedule and should go,” she turned away from the students, climbing onto the bike and putting her helmet on.

“Hold on tight,” she told me. “And if you grab my boobs-!”

“Yeah, yeah, you’ll kick me off the bike,” I said as I wrapped my arms around her waist.

“I was gonna say I’ll punch you once we get off, but that works too!”

Without another word, Caenis revved the bike and we sped off away from the school.

_I never saw the expressions on a select few people as they processed Caenis’s words, casting suspicious looks at Rei._

_I never saw Asia looking at Rei with a frightened but concerned expression as Caenis’s words rang in her head._

_And I never saw how Rei left with Asia, a look of worry hidden in her gaze._

…

…

…

I stumbled off of Caenis’s bike as she pulled over outside the house.

She was… A very aggressive driver, and that was putting it mildly.

“Haha, sorry about that,” she said, having the decency to at least look sheepish as she took off her helmet. “I don’t exactly have the riding skill, so I’m not good at driving.”

“You’re not driving me ever again unless it’s life or death,” I told her, pulling off the helmet and setting it on the bike. “Ever.”

“Aw, but it was fun!”

“You and I have very different definitions of fun, Caenis!”

“Look on the bright side!”

“What bright side is there right now!?”

“You get to see the house for the first time!”

I blinked at that and shifted my gaze to the house, getting a good look at it for the first time.

It was fucking _huge_. And that was me underestimating it. It looked less like a house and more like a damned manor!

I didn’t remember a house like this being around in town before, what the fuck?

“Oh… My… Breasts…”

“Don’t you mean god?”

“Look, you worship your thing and I’ll worship mine.”

She snorted in amusement at that. “Circe did some work on the house,” she said by way of explanation. “She hypnotised the people in houses that were taking up room into moving elsewhere. Don’t worry, we paid them a good price so they could find other places.”

“I wouldn’t have cared if you hadn’t paid them.”

She grinned, as if pleased with my answer. “I’ll remember that for next time! But, anyway, we have more materials that will arrive tomorrow so Circe can really do some good work and add other important additions I said we’d need. In the meantime, she started working on a mystic code that looks exactly like your uniform once we got home. That way you’ll be protected at school.”

“She did all this in a few hours…?”

“Yep!” Caenis grinned. “Impressive, right?”

“More than impressive, it’s unbelievable.”

“That’s what one of the greatest Greek sorcerers in history can do,” she laughed. “You think this is great, just wait till you see the inside!” She grabbed my hand and dragged me down the path.

The inside of the house was just as impressive. It looked modern, but held a very ‘Ancient Greek’ vibe to it. I chalked it up to Circe’s habits from when she was alive.

“Ah, Master!” I heard Circe’s voice as she came down the stairs, giving me a radiant smile as she made her way over, wings fluttering behind her. “Welcome! Do you like the house?”

“It’s very impressive,” I told her. “You’ve done a great job, Circe.”

“It is only natural,” she told me. “I hope you don’t mind that I set up a small farm behind the house. I prefer to grow my own crops.”

“You won’t hear me complaining about it, just try and keep any magic usage discreet or unseen?”

She nodded. “Not a problem, I already thought you would ask and have taken appropriate counter measures.”

“Good. Now, I heard you were making a Mystic Code for me…?”

Her eyes lit up. “Ah, yes! Please, head to the lounge while I retrieve it!” She didn’t wait for me to respond as she headed up the stairs, joyfully humming a tune.

“… She seems happy.”

“Do you know much about Circe’s legend, Issei?”

“Eh? Um… Not much. Just that she liked Odysseus and… Liked to turn people into pigs?”

She gave a nod as she led me to the lounge. “She fell in love with Odysseus when he visited the island. She found him enchanting, beautiful, and desired him above all others.”

“… But?”

“But he didn’t love her,” she sighed, taking a seat on one of the sofas. “See, legends messed things up a bit. Odysseus is said to have kids with Circe, but he didn’t at all. He was completely focused on getting back to his wife, Penelope, after the Trojan War. When Circe turned his men into pigs, he convinced her to turn them back and then he resisted her advances and left with his men, continuing his journey back to his wife.”

“But Circe was left alone…” I said. “Heartbroken, feeling betrayed that the men she fell in love with, that she thought she could spend her life with, left her behind… Am I right?”

Caenis nodded. “Yes. Circe is one of the Servants that becomes very attached to their Master, willing to do anything for them so long as it doesn’t go against their morals or beliefs… Even then, if they care for them strongly enough, they’re willing to go against those.”

I gulped lightly. “… So, what? She has a crush on me?”

“Something like that.”

“And there’s a chance she could fall in love with me?”

“It’s not just there, it’s likely to happen.”

“So, what do I do?”

“I can’t answer that,” she looked at me. “That is all up to you, Issei.”

I only nodded as I slipped into a seat next to her, staring down at my hands.

Love…

There was a good chance Circe was going to fall in love with me…

I really didn’t know how I was supposed to take that.

How would I respond to such feelings, when I didn’t even know what love was?

 _‘There is only one thing I can do,’_ I thought to myself. _‘I just have to spend time with her, and see if I end up feeling love. If I fall in love with her, I think I’ll know. And, if I don’t love her, I will be completely honest and not string her along.’_

I nodded resolutely with my decision, looking up as Circe walked over, that beautiful smile still on her face.

She set four neatly folded sets of clothes on the table.

“Your defensive mystic code uniforms,” she told me. “One for wearing, another to wear when that’s being washed, another to wear when one is being washed and the other is drying, and the last as a spare in case something happens to the other ones.”

“You don’t do things by halves, do you?” Caenis asked.

“When the master’s safety is involved? Never.”

“You don’t need to call me Master,” I said to her. “Just Issei is fine. Being called master is a bit…” Arousing.

She nodded. “Then Issei-sama.”

“That’s not… Ugh, sure.”

She smiled and took a seat on a chair, crossing one leg over the other. “So, what’s the plan?”

Both she and Caenis looked at me.

It took me a moment to realise they expected me to have a plan.

Of course, it made sense. I was the leader here, so they would follow my words. They would offer suggestions, and advice on how to improve any plans I made, but ultimately would leave the final decision in my hands.

“First and foremost, I want you to focus on the house,” I told Circe. “Put all your focus into the house, any other mystic codes are now secondary. It needs to be a fortress.”

She nodded. “I can do that.”

“Second,” I looked at Caenis. “I need you to stick with me from now on, to protect me and such…”

I explained about the Occult Research Club, and the auras they had all given off, as well as Sona’s.

“Seven demons in the school,” Circe muttered “Possibly even more, considering the Gremory girl leads a club. It wouldn’t surprise me if this ‘Shitori’ girl’s Student Council was also filled with demons.”

I shuddered as I considered that. About a dozen or so demons in school, and who knew what they were planning…?

“And Issei lives with two of them,” Caenis pointed out. “One who also gives off the power of a Dragon, according to him. That’s not good, Dragons are one of the most powerful Phantasmal Beasts. If his sister has Dragon aura, she is dangerous.”

“Indeed,” Circe gave a grave nod. “Issei-sama’s protection is now your top priority, Caenis. How are you going to get out of the house, Issei-sama?”

“I have to wait until Rei is gone for a prolonged period of time,” I told them. “Sadly, I don’t know how long that’s going to take… It could be weeks; it could be months. But once she’s out, all I need to do is convince my parents to let me leave and then I’m home free.”

Circe bit her lip. “I could hypnotise your parents-!”

“No,” I told her. “My sister or Asia could notice, it’s not worth the risk. Better I convince them once Rei is gone for a while.”

She gave a nod. “I understand.”

“Right,” Caenis nodded. “So, focus on defending the house, I focus on defending you, get you out of the house when we can, what else?”

“I need training,” I told them both. “Circe, can you teach me?”

She nodded. “I can most certainly do that. I’ll assume your knowledge is limited and start from scratch. I’ll need a bit of time to set up a circle so I can Soul Dive, but I can teach you other things until them.”

I nodded and looked to Caenis. “I know you said you aren’t good at training, but I don’t need training in fighting right now. What I need right now is physical conditioning, strengthening my body so that I have the strength to install a Servant for at least fifteen minutes if need be.”

She considered that before she nodded. “Physical conditioning, that I can do.”

I gave a nod. “One I’ve moved out, and once I’ve gotten a bit of training done, then we can move onto the next step.”

“Next step?” Circe tilted her head.

I nodded. “Right now, we don’t have enough information about our enemies and we don’t know how much they have on us. What we’ll need is information. In other words, we need Servants. Specifically, Servants specialising in espionage and information gathering.”

“You mean…?”

“Yes. Once I’m moved out, it will be time to summon an Assassin Servant to help us start gathering information.”


End file.
